US trip sparks hope for Whitsundays tourism

Tue 19 Jan 2010, 10:33 AM AEDT

Tourism Whitsundays says it is confident a promotional trip to the United States by Queensland's tourism ambassador will generate interest in the region.

Ben Southall, the former caretaker of Hamilton Island, is in the US with Queensland Premier Anna Bligh, appearing on morning talk shows and attending events like G'day USA to encourage Americans to holiday in Australia.

Chief executive Peter O'Reilly says while America is the third biggest market for the Whitsundays, it can be challenging to convince Americans to make the trip to Australia.

"The US is very close to the Caribbean, so I think when they want to go to a tropical island, they tend to think the Caribbean and off they head in that direction," he said.

"Australia is one of those must do things or their bucket list type of destinations that they'd like to get to one day, but it's a long way and it's rather expensive."